He pulled a Tillis again

Tillis will vote to recommend Todd Blanche despite no evidence that he would put the country before the president.

Thom Tillis pulled another Tillis. After weeks — months? — of posturing about Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, Tillis is going to put another Trump toady in the cabinet. He got played again, or maybe he was just playing us.

Tillis had long said that he would not vote to recommend Blanche for confirmation unless the Justice Department trashed Trump’s 1776 Fund to reward Capitol insurrectionists. He said otherwise Blanche was a fine pick, calling him “qualified.”

But that doesn’t make any sense. If Blanche was unqualified because he was willing to allow Trump to pay insurrectionists handsome sums of money using taxpayer dollars, how is he qualified just because the Senate forced him to back down? Blanche is still the same man willing to bend over for Trump and excuse people who assaulted the Capitol. His character and judgment haven’t changed.

Blanche is a bad pick by Tillis’s own standards. Of course, that brings into question Tillis’s standards. He’s never really had many firm ones. They are all negotiable and if he were still running for Senate, he probably wouldn’t have even raised these concerns.

It’s not just the perpetual double standard that defines Tillis this time. It’s also the deal itself. In exchange for ending the 1776 Fund, Trump, his sons, and his companies are protected from past audits. It’s all about Trump.

Blanche has shown no evidence that he puts the welfare of the country before his loyalty to Trump. That’s the problem with all of his cabinet members. They don’t see themselves as public servants. They see themselves as working for Trump. And Thom Tillis knows that. He should do better.